For the water cooler: This Firm Will Offer Special Bonuses On Top Of Regular Bonuses; Biglaw Attorney Left His Kids Home Alone While He Went To Paris, According To Court Documents; Dads sue over teens’ expulsion for alleged racist texts; Arkansas Court Upholds Birth Certificate Law Excluding Lesbian Spouses; Does Garland nomination have ‘a snowball’s chance in hell’? Lawyer’s suit fails; other ideas aired; Ravel Law Launches Court Analytics For Federal And State Courts; Lawyer who sued over $75 boot fee for Porsche paid $56K in sanctions; no discipline recommended; US judge stops Michigan recount, finds no constitutional right to recount absent miscount evidence; Tech knowledge makes lawyers more productive, and could be key to increasing access to justice; Embryos Gone Wild, Start Dropping Briefs, In Lawsuits Against Celebrities; If You Don’t Trust Congress Or SCOTUS, Then Let’s Call A Constitutional Convention!; Fox Rothschild lawyer dies at 104; he was still practicing law; Are these law schools the most underrated? & Why Small-Firm Lawyers Need To Have A Killer ‘App.’

For the water cooler: Top law firms increasingly go to court to collect fees; is it the new normal?; Federal judge who questioned meaning of ‘drop-down menu,’ didn’t instruct jurors is tossed from case; Moneyball, Law Professor Style; The Terrifying Reality Of Receiving Your First Bar Complaint; Top state court won’t review overturned $1M sanction against med-mal lawyer; Ravel Law launches analytics tool for entire court systems and jurisdictions; Who’s To Blame For School’s ‘Horrific’ Bar Results? Maybe The California Bar Examiners.; Lawyer’s disclosure of sealed filing didn’t require dismissal of whistleblower suit, SCOTUS rules; Don’t Waste Your Money On Law School When You Can Work In Fast Food And Make A; Similar Salary; Solicitor Sues Oxford for Negligent Teaching; Supreme Court upholds insider trading conviction for secondhand tippee; Prosecutor’s office paid ransom to regain access to its computers; international network busted; Racial bias in New York state prisons is ‘fact of life,’ newspaper investigation concludes & What Women Can Learn About Leadership From Hillary’s Defeat.

For the water cooler: Judge who let law clerk rule on cases has Alzheimer’s diagnosis, is unable to do job, complaint says; Looks Like The International Criminal Court Is Going To Be Prosecuting Americans For Torture; A Sober Navigation Of The Law Firm Holiday Party Circuit; Which Law School Is The Most Likely To Land You A Job?; Trump supporters file legal challenges to vote recounts in three states; City attorney accused in anti-Trump graffiti incident remains on the job, for now; In bid to protect online reviews, Congress OKs bill banning consumer gag clauses in form contracts; It’s Official, Nobody F@cks With Preet Bharara; 12 Diversity Obstacles Your Law Firm Faces Over The 12 Days Of Christmas (And Potentially Long After); Bar Exam Suicides Are Disturbingly Common Among Recent Law School Graduates; Obama Administration Targets ‘Disturbing Schools’ Law in Court Filing; Sons of Ethel Rosenberg make last-ditch plea for presidential exoneration; SiriusXM agrees to pay up to $99M in copyright class action brought by Turtles members; A Federal Judge’s Rather Rude Joke About Lesbian & KC law firm Spencer Fane grows to 190 lawyers with acquisition of 70-year-old Denver firm.

For the water cooler: Biglaw Firm Decides To Give Office Etiquette Lesson; Average 401(k) savings top $1M in plans at these two law firms; Some law firms are selling the right to their uncollected billings in exchange for up-front cash; City Attorney Spraying Anti-Trump Graffiti While Drinking Wine Is All We Have Left; Public defender is found in contempt for refusing cases; DA asks state supreme court to intervene; Fee clawbacks in case of failed Heller firm to be considered by California Supreme Court; 10 to 15 law schools could close if enrollment keeps shrinking, higher-ed market analyst says; So… Are We Going To Talk About Those Women Who Accused Trump, Ever Again?; Congress Passes Bill Expanding Consumer Rights to Post Negative Reviews; Ethics Office’s Tweets at Donald Trump Cause a Stir; The Critical Need For Pro Bono Immigration Work; Does federal law forbid workplace discrimination against gays? Full 7th Circuit hears arguments; Mandatory tech CLE: An idea whose time has come; In just-released video, Posner calls chief justice a ‘terrible’ manager, blasts ‘stupid’ opinions & Standard Of Review: BBC America’s ‘Undercover’ Blends Legal And Family Intrigue.

For the water cooler: Prosecutor In Hot Water For Using A Wiretap To Spy On A Love Interest; More women are attending law school, but at lower-ranked schools, study finds; Freedom Of The Press In Trump’s America; Former Biglaw Mailroom Clerk Writes Book Called ‘The Law Firm That Called Me The N-Word’; Dean Resigns After Abysmal Bar Passage Numbers; A former lawyer for Casey Anthony is held without bail in alleged drug smuggling scheme; Manhattan US attorney will stay in his position after Trump becomes president; A Woman Lawyer’s Hard Lesson: You Can’t Have It All; Future is cloudy for Dodd-Frank and financial regulatory agencies under Trump presidency; Alleged go-between is indicted in Markel case; misdirected ‘jerk’ email emerges in discovery tussle; Disbarred lawyer threatens suit; he was accused of bringing pepper spray, stun gun to deposition; Wisconsin law firm will close after most of its remaining lawyers join another firm; Law profs debate electoral college role after Lessig calls for Trump rejection & Among Trump’s potential SCOTUS picks, these rate highest for ‘Scalia-ness,’ study says.

For the water cooler: Lawyer Has No Regrets Over Disbarment Over Alleged Stun Gun Threats During Deposition; Sad Tale – Recent Law School Graduate Commits Suicide After Failing Bar Exam; Tort Reform And The Litigation Finance Business; Trump Treasury Hopeful John Allison Wants To Replace Fed, Dodd-Frank With Copies Of; ‘Atlas Shrugged’; Chemerinsky: Decision in SCOTUS immigration case could hinge on government’s admission of error; Lock up or toss out the flag-burners? Trump tweet highlights a difference with Scalia; Tracking Incidents Of Hate Since Donald Trump Won The Election; Leading Questions: Inside the Trump University Settlement; Obama Administration Targets ‘Disturbing Schools’ Law in Court Filing; Double jeopardy doesn’t bar retrial in case of inconsistent verdicts, Supreme Court rules; Sutherland and Eversheds confirm merger talks; Several law profs land on watchlist of academics who advance ‘leftist propaganda’; California considers general ethical ban on lawyer sex with clients; Bonus season begins with Cravath announcement; which firms fall in line?; Former Chadbourne employee’s book announcement is short-lived & Arrest records of civil rights leader are unearthed; persistent lawyer sought them for 15 years.

For the water cooler: The Texas Law Hawk Saves Santa – new crazy ad from Forth Worth DWI lawyer; Associate Bonus Watch: Cravath Announces Its 2016 Associate Bonuses!; The Real Reason Law School Deans Hate U.S. News; New Partners At Paul Hastings: 80 Percent Women; Update: Neil Armstrong’s Hair Is Still for Sale; The Unmitigated Stupidity Of Confessing; Two federal defenders in Omaha discover they are half sisters; Asian-American bar officials acknowledge fears amid hate crime reports; more resources offered; Biglaw Managing Partner Is Fearful After Enduring Hate Speech; Federal judge allows accused church shooter Dylann Roof to represent himself; Trump chooses Jones Day partner as White House counsel; How lawyers can negotiate for better salaries and positions (podcast); Suspension recommended for lawyer who sought up to $24M in fees, didn’t produce computer & Are former offenders more likely to be fired for misconduct? Only in one kind of job studied.